A further #270,000 could be spent on Leamington?s Jephson Gardens complete its transformation into a top tourist spot.

Warwick District Council is applying for more lottery funding so it can carry out more work on the Grade II listed park.

A #4.3 million scheme, which included building a new glasshouse area with restaurant, was completed earlier this year.

But some projects were not carried out because there was not enough cash.

Now the council wants to carry out additional work including overhauling the Elephant Walk, by the side of the river Leam, and refurbishing the South Lodge, making it suitable for exhibitions and displays.

The council?s head of leisure, Dale Best, said the park was already proving popular with visitors but more work needed to be done.

?Since the opening, in April, thousands of people, including many tourists, have flocked to the gardens and a number of complimentary letters about the restoration have been received. Overall, the venture appears to have been a success, and there have been very few letters of criticism, which is pleasing.?

Some work had been put on hold because money had to be channelled into repairs to the damage caused by the 1998 floods and a fire in the potting sheds, and into alterations which had to be made to the design of new buildings.

As well as the overhaul of the Elephant Walk and the South Lodge, the council wants to refurbish the North Lodge, put some more interpretation material in the Glasshouse, carry out irrigation work, resurface the paths north of the Mill Gardens and complete the waterside planting.